xAI Experiencing Significant Leadership Losses
Elon Musk is addressing a wave of departures from his artificial intelligence company, xAI. The latest round includes two more co-founders who left this week, bringing the total number of exits to six out of the original 12 founding members.
Musk’s Explanation at All-Hands Meeting
At an all-hands meeting on Tuesday night, Musk suggested that these departures were about fit rather than performance. According to The New York Times, he stated: “Because we’ve reached a certain scale, we’re organizing the company to be more effective at this scale. And actually, when this happens, there’s some people who are better suited for the early stages of a company and less suited for the later stages.”
Further Clarification on X Platform
The following day, Musk provided additional context via his X platform account: “xAI was reorganized a few days ago to improve speed of execution. As a company grows, especially as quickly as xAI, the structure must evolve just like any living organism. This unfortunately required parting ways with some people.” He also mentioned that the company is actively hiring and encouraged those interested in joining to consider the idea of mass drivers on the Moon.
Departures Raise Questions
Losing half of its co-founders within a short period raises questions about internal dynamics. Musk’s comments seem designed to control the narrative, reframing the exits as necessary organizational changes rather than issues with company culture or performance.
List of Departing Employees
- Ayush Jaiswal (February 6)
- Shayan Salehian (February 7)
- Simon Zhai (February 9)
- Yuhuai (Tony) Wu, co-founder and reasoning lead (February 9)
- Jimmy Ba, co-founder and research/safety lead (February 10)
- Vahid Kazemi (February 10)
- Hang Gao (February 10)
- Roland Gavrilescu (February 10)
- Chace Lee (February 10)
- Andrew Ma (February 11)
Impact on xAI
The departures come at a time when xAI is facing significant regulatory scrutiny following the creation of nonconsensual explicit deepfakes by Grok, an AI system developed within the company. Additionally, Musk faces personal controversy after documents revealed extended conversations with Jeffrey Epstein.
Future Outlook
xAI’s ability to attract and retain top talent will be crucial as it competes in a highly competitive field of AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Despite the recent departures, Musk remains optimistic about xAI’s future and its potential impact on advancing technology.
元記事: https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/11/senior-engineers-including-co-founders-exit-xai-amid-controversy/